The open entrance fills with hesitant townspeople carrying figs, oil, garlands, and small lamps. Behind them, the senior attendant remains at the threshold, while the younger attendants guard the cracked bronze seal.
Kiki enters among the newcomers, a slender adult woman with dark hair, bright layered garments, and an enormous strapped drum resting against her frame. Her fingers tap a restrained rhythm.
Kiki
Does a gathering need an anthem, a rule, or simply a way for newcomers to announce that they have arrived?
The rhythm travels softly over the bathwater and cushions. Several townspeople glance toward the supper circle, then toward the attendant, weighing welcome against the old restrictions.
the senior attendant
A rule comes first. Offerings may be shared, but no guest is compelled to speak, perform, surrender a name, or remain.
A gray-haired woman, a middle-aged human woman with a sturdy build, warm brown skin, and a rust-red shawl over a cream dress, her silver hair braided close to her head places a wreath beside the nearest cushion and sits. A young man, a lean young adult human man with tawny skin, a narrow face, and short black hair, wearing a faded green tunic and brown trousers leaves dates in a bowl before settling beside her, while two others remain standing at the entrance.
Aphrodite
The threshold is open, but hesitation still guards it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Welcome the hesitant newcomers into the gathering
✓ Quest Accepted
Preserve the newcomers’ trust in the temple’s peaceful terms
“I publicly reaffirm the attendant’s peaceful terms for every newcomer.”
SUCCESS (Great Oratory, rolled +0)
Aphrodite
Let every newcomer hear the terms plainly: offerings may be shared, but no guest must speak, perform, surrender a name, or remain.
Aphrodite’s voice carries from the supper circle to the open threshold. Hesitant hands lower their lamps, and the night air seems less like judgment than invitation.
the senior attendant
So witnessed and reaffirmed. These terms stand beneath my seal, for those within and for those who choose to enter.
gray-haired woman
Then my wreath is an offering, not a pledge. I may share it and still leave when I wish.
young man
And these dates may feed whoever comes after me. No name required.
The two townspeople remain seated without being pressed for more. At the threshold, the waiting pair exchange a glance, then step inside carrying their lamps, while Kiki’s restrained rhythm welcomes their arrival.
Quest Complete
Welcome the hesitant newcomers into the gathering
Quest Complete
Preserve the newcomers’ trust in the temple’s peaceful terms